What would people like to see in the next version of Mac OSX

By Daniel, 3 May, 2013

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macOS and Mac Apps

Hi all, quite simply I was just wondering for those who are waiting for the next big cat to pounce and reveal itself, what features are you hoping that they may include? For me it's a couple of Safari Voiceover tidy ups so to speak. These are when VO keeps saying "internal" before most but not all links and the other is the 3 items, 2 items, etc when navgating by headings. Just wanted to start a frendly discussion on what you are all eagarly awaiting for in the next Mac OSX version. accessability or not. So the floor is open for everyone to have there say and I hope it will turn out to be an interesting conversation! Daniel

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Well, As you mentioned, I

Well, As you mentioned, I would like a little tightening up of Safari accessibility. First off, can we get rid of busys? haha. We don't have the busy issue in Chrome so I know its possible to fix in Safari. Granted, it doesn't happen much for me but, I can remember a time, around when Leopard 10.5 was out, it didn't happen at all. I would also like for Voiceover focus to be placed on the last link I activated when I go back in the browser more consistently. This doesn't work more times than it works. Finding my place on the previous page is a waste of time. Next I'd like to see Siri added to Mac OS 10.9. This would make setting calendar appointments and reminders super easy like on IOS, as well as sending iMessages. Also, I would like to see some work done to the new premium voices. I'd like to be able to change pitch and intonation. This isn't a deal breaker for me but, it would be a welcomed improvement. Lastly, I would like some more Voiceover accessibility added to Garageband. For starters, more control over MIDI. The ability to edit notes would be huge. I would also like to be able to have access to automation. Its frustrating not being able to add effects to one track, for a specific amount of time. .

Improvements in the next OS X release

Thanks for this post Daniel. I would like to have the auto-detection speach for Mac's VoiceOver, I've been waiting a lot for this feature. I'm using both Arabic and English languages, each time I have to switch to a different voice. It would be great to have other third party apps like MS-office, Acquia DevDesktop and goldwav and Logic Pro supported with VoiceOver, I can't get rid out of windows because of goaldwav and MS-office. If those apps are fully accessible with VO in the next update, I'd drop my PC and Stick with Mac OS. Oh, I'd love as well to have the feature oF updating VoiceOver without waiting for the next major OS update. That's all what I got for now. Regards. Khalfan.

A few suggestions for the net cat

Hi all. Good topic that i hope, won't spiral down into the abyss some things have on here. First off, I'd agree witht he busy thing being kicked out the door. I don't use garage band so not sure, but I'd like to see a little improvement in checking for updates maybe a little faster response time. granted i'm on a 2011 Mac who constantly takes forever to boot but that's another story. well wait, no maybe that can be figured out too. I don't really see the need for siri yet, but you're also talking to a girl who does not, have anything above a iPhone four and iPad two. I'll upgrade the phone maybe eventually when I find some cash lol. seriously I really can't find that much to ask for.

improvement in pages, GarageBand, etc

I'd like improvements in Pages, Keynote, Numbers, GarageBand, iPhoto and iMovie. Making VO a bit more responsive would also help. Many bug fixes need to finally be fixed as well.

Interesting views so far

Totally agree with VoiceOver having the ability to remember where it left off on the previous page. Completley forgot about that one. The idea of having VoiceOver updates count sounds pretty cool too. Searie for me at present doesn't really appeal to me and I can't see myself using it personally but that's just my opinion. I would also like to see the voices improved or to have some extra ones that we can download. But that's it from me at the present until I think of something else or someone chimes in.

a few things

1. In Preview and Safari, a fix for voiceover reading of PDF files is long overdue. Starting in OS X 10.7 Lion, voiceover would not read the first letters of some words in a PDF document, providing for an incomplete reading experience. 2. In iCloud preferences, the, "Services group" element is way over by the window controls, not anywhere near the rest of the content. Navigating to this from any other content area of the pain is awkward with voiceover. 3. When browsing webpages with voiceover, there needs to be more adjustable verbosity options, so as not to keep saying, "Entering complimentary, leaving complimentary" etc. In my case, this puts superfluous web layout information in the middle of the browsing experience.

PDF, word processing and braille

I've used Mac OS X since Leopard and noticed the following: 1. Agree on the PDF. Wish that could be fixed. If it wouldn't I do have some alternatives, so it's not a dealbreaker. 2. Wish there could be better support for Iwork or any other office suite. Well, enough said on that one. :) 3. Braille. Here I've noticed some interesting things: 1. When copying a large amount of datta when a little braille display is connected this gives problems. I tried once with a 24 cell display and everytime I hit the pan right-button and the status was updated it sent me back to the starting point. So I would only se: 1.0 GB of 80 GB copied. The rest I couldn't get to at all since the focus jumped back before I could read the status. 2. When reading mails in Mail it seems to me that I miss some lines of text for no reason. I suppose this has to do with Voiceovers focus and the braille display, but I don't know how to bug fix this. 3. When browsing the web I sometimes can't move to the next object when I am in DOM-mode. I have to use the keyboard. So I can't have my hands only on the display and read the page. If anyone knows about a fix for any of my thought above please let me know.

My Wish List for Mac OS X

I've written my wish list of features and improvements for Mac OS X which I'd love you all to read. You can find it here: http://nicholascharlesparsons.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/wish-list-for-mac-os-10-9/#more-93 I'm still writing an article on the accessibility improvements and bug fixes. However, for now, I completely agree that automatic language detection would be fantastic as would some better verbosity controls for VoiceOver in Safari, and an end to being thrown into the toolbar when a new page loads. Pages needs a lot of improvements such as support for reading footnotes, track changes, page numbers and line numbers.

Perhaps an over all stability improvement

Apart from many of the things already mentioned in this conversation I think an over all stability improvement is needed in voice over and OS 10 in general. I am tired of hearing Safari Busy, itunes Busy, pages Busy. In my opinion it is unacceptable how often I am having to deal with programs hanging. Other then this and a few other things I love my Mac.

elements and menu extras

1. Starting in OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, when I press VO M twice, it shows the menu extras, but I have to navigate the menus with VO left and right arrow, and then press VO spacebar to see it's contents. In prior versions, I could just navigate with the left and right arrow keys and Voiceover would read the heading. Then, if I wanted more detail, I would just navigate with the up and down arrow keys. 2. Increasingly in OS X, there are more elements to interact with. While this has some convenience when exploring the overview of a window, it can be annoying to keep interacting and stop interacting with elements. A simple solution to this problem is to add a keystroke like they did with tables, where it says, "interaction required or not required." It could even be the same keystroke sensitive to the context of the area.

voiceover improvements in osx

I'd like to have a bookmarking feature in Safari, the hotspot feature doesn't work as well as bookmarks in JAWS as far as landing in the correct spot. Like many have said, MS Office accessibility and/or better voiceover support for Pages, Numbers and Keynote. Regarding Ricardo's suggestions for voice adjustments like pitch and intonation, we can already do that in 10.8, vo+cmd+left or right arrow cycles through the voice adjustment options.

Voiceover in Mac App Store

It would be nice to have voiceover automatically speak status text and progress indicator updates when downloading or updating apps from the Mac App Store. In the old Software Update program, voiceover spoke status text and progress indicator updates, provided it was set to do so. Now, because I think the Mac App Store runs in an HTML content area, these updates aren't spoken, and it feels more like navigating a website rather than a native app. This may be considered along the lines of improving the accessibility of live regions, which would also be welcome.